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IMMUNITY
IMMUNITY: How far can the Senate
go?
NDIDI OKAFOR, Deputy Political Editor, Abuja
T HE
Senate embarked on end of the year recess on June 2, 2004, having sat and
overshot 181 sitting days prescribed in the 1999 constitution.
It passed into law 28 bills and considered
60 motions but left several legislative business unfinished.
This unfinished business include bills,
reports and committee assignments. However, one committee assignment of the
senate and by extension, the National Assembly, that promises to engage much of
Peoples’ attention is the review of the 1999 constitution assigned to an Ad-Hoc
Committee headed by the Deputy Senate President Ibrahim Mantu.
The 80-man Ad-Hoc Committee was put in
place shortly after the inauguration of the senate last year to examine the 1999
constitution in the light of complaints in the polity and report back to it.
The Mantu Constitution Review Committee
made up of 40 senators and 40 members from the House of Representatives was
inaugurated by the Senate President, Adophus Wabara and divided into sub
committees for effective operations.
Just before it went on recess, its six sub
committees had already swung into action with some holding public hearing to
aggregate the views of the people on the constitution.
However, the sub committee on
supplementary and General provisions of the 1999 constitution, headed by Senator
Mamman Ali held a public hearing on the supplementary and General provisions of
the constitution.
Various stakeholders especially the
National Judicial Council (NJC) made submissions to the Maman Ali sub-Committee.
The stakeholders examined among other
issues, the definition of boundaries of states as contained in section 3 (1) and
2 of General Provisions Part I and Part II of the Third Schedule of the
constitution, including the provision on local government areas as contained in
section 7, sub-section I of the constitution. But the knotty issue which is
still hanging has to do with the immunities granted to president Olusegun
Obasanjo and the 36 governors by the constitution contained in section 308.
Specifically, the chairman of the
sub-committee had clearly identified areas for critical examination and input to
include section 308 and assured the contributors that their news will be taken
seriously by the entire senate and the National Assembly. Senator Mamman Ali
dispelled rumours that the Constitution Review Committee and its sub-committees
were being "teleguided and had taken a position in loyalty to some individuals
or group interests".
Consequently, the National Judicial
Council, (NJC) frowned at the knotty issue and called on the senate and the
National Assembly to strip both president Obasanjo and the governors of
"immunity from criminal prosecution".
NJC represented by its vice-chairman,
Justice Alfa Modibbo Belgore noted that Obasanjo and the 36 governors should
lose their immunity from criminal prosecution in the proposed new constitution.
Section 308 of the 1999 constitution with
immunity against legal prosecution while section 306-307 state how a president
or governor should resign.
But in amending the constitution, Justice
Belgore said to the senate: "Immunity granted under section 308 should be
limited civil suits against the relevant officer in his private capacity.
Immunity from criminal prosecution, including arrest for felonies, should be
abolished".
Justice Belgore argued that "as section
308 stands, an abuse of immunity from prosecution will not only be scandalous,
but will do untold injustice to the complainant, the administration of justice
in the country and the public at large. This will put the administration of
justice into disrepute and make the country a laughing stock in the comity of
nations".
The legal luminary contended that "the
immunity granted under section 308 be reviewed with a view to closing avenues of
abuse".
But another renowned legal luminary and
constitutional lawyer, Prof Ben Nwabueze argued that the president should not be
stripped of his immunity since he is the very symbol of the country. However,
Nwabueze did not make the same case for the governors.
In view of the following positions, some
political pundits have argued that neither the senate nor the National Assembly
would muster the legislature and political will strip president Obasanjo of the
immunity against legal prosecution granted him by the law of the land.
Those in this school of though also argued
that the senate will not get the consent of the State Houses of Assembly to
strip state governors of their immunity the Senate and the National Assembly
need a two-third (24) of the State Houses of Assembly to amend or expunge
section 308 from the constitution, and analysts insist that they will not get
the legislative support to do it as most of the governors are said to be in
control of the state legislature.
Nonetheless, another group have argued
that the National Assembly has the constitutional right to make and amend laws,
including the constitution to ensure good governance in the country. This, they
contended that the issue of immunity of president and the governors deserve
thorough legislative scrutiny by the upper house and the entire Federal
Legislature.
Apparently, whether or not immunity
conferred on the president and governors by the constitution should subsist
remains and unfinished and knotty legislative business for the senate to attend
to when it resumes on July 20, 2004.
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